Global InformationSan Juan Express information
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 The San Juan Express at Alamosa, Colorado | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Inter-city rail |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Locale | Western United States |
| First service | February 11, 1937 |
| Last service | January 31, 1951 |
| Former operator(s) | Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad |
| Route | |
| Termini | Durango, Colorado Alamosa, Colorado |
| Train number(s) | 115/116 |
The San Juan Express (also known as simply the San Juan) was a narrow gauge train that ran on the 3 feet (0.91 m) Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) route from Durango, Colorado via Chama, New Mexico; Cumbres Pass; and Antonito, Colorado to Alamosa, Colorado. The train ran from February 11, 1937 until January 31, 1951 as train numbers 115 and 116, though towards the end of the passenger service it took on the number 215 and 216.[1]
The railroad line was closed by the D&RGW in 1968 and much of the narrow gauge trackage has since been abandoned. A surviving portion of the narrow gauge track in the route is the 64 miles (103 km) long Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad between Antonito and Chama which calls its westbound train the Colorado Limited and its eastbound train the New Mexico Express. The line from Antonito to Alamosa is now standard gauge only and belongs to the San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad. Normally, from Alamosa to Chama, a D&RGW K-36 (Or K-37) class locomotive, either 482, 483, 484, 485, 488, or 489 would haul the 4 to 5 car consist. At Chama, the K-36 and their crew would be swapped out with a D&RGW K-28 and their crews would take over from Chama, to Durango. On the return journey it would be the other way around. However, there is photographic evidence of a K-36 locomotive hauling the train the entire length.
Normally, the train would be 4 cars long, which consisted of a Railway Post Office Car, or RPO for short, a Baggage Car, a Passenger Car, and a Parlor Car. But there is photographic evidence of the train having as many as 8 cars.
According to a 1941 timetable, The Westbound train would depart Alamosa at 7:00 A.M., arrive at Antonito at 8:05 AM, Chama at 11:15 A.M., and Arrive at Durango at 4:05 P.M. The Eastbound would depart Durango at 11:15 A.M., Arrive at Chama at 4:05 P.M., Arrive at Antonito at 7:25 P.M., and arrive at Alamosa at 8:30 P.M.,
- ^ "Rio Grande Passenger Trains". www.drgw.org. Rio Grande Modeling & Historical Society. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013. Retrieved 24 Jan 2014.